


Salamander Eyes

by PathoftheRaven



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Asexual Newt Scamander, Awkward, But that's how I see him, Canon Compliant, Cinnamon Roll Newt Scamander, F/M, Fluff, Movie 2: Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald Spoilers, Not super obvious, Oneshot, Salamanders, Tina's POV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-24
Updated: 2018-11-24
Packaged: 2019-08-28 19:09:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16729038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PathoftheRaven/pseuds/PathoftheRaven
Summary: Spoilers for The Crimes of Grindelwald!Just a short oneshot of the Salamander Eyes scene from the movie from Tina's POV.





	Salamander Eyes

Tina ran into the beautiful atrium that housed the records for the French Ministry of Magic with Ne--Mr. Scamander at her side. There was an old woman sitting outside of the entrance to the records room, blocking their entrance.

“Puis-je vous aider?”

Tina recognized the saying from the little French she had learned in preparation for her visit: “May I help you?”

Mr. Scamander seemed to understand it as well, as he immediately answered. “Er--yes, this is Leta Lestrange.” Tina gave a little smile as she felt her stomach sink with dread. She could guess where this conversation was going to take them, and she was _not_ happy about it. “And--I’m her--”

Sensing that Mr. Scamander was struggling, Tina blurted out, “Fiancé.” She almost regretted it, the awkwardness between them was almost stifling. But really, Mr. Scamander chose to get engaged and if bringing it up made him uncomfortable, he would just have to deal with it.

The woman's finger ran down a list of names, moving painfully slowly until she seemed satisfied, gesturing for them to continue with an, “Allez-y.”

“Merci,” Tina managed to whisper, at the same time that Mr. Scamander muttered, “Thank you,” grabbed her hand, and pulled her into the records room.  

He was the first to break the silence. “Tina, about that fiancée business--”

“Sorry, yeah.” Tina said harshly. “I should have congratulated you--”

“No, that’s--”

“ _Lumos_ .” She _really_ didn’t want to be discussing Mr. Scamander’s love life. This was _just_ a business arrangement, she told herself firmly. _Nothing more._ It could never be anything else. Not anymore.

“Lestrange,” she called out hopefully. Nothing happened. Tina briskly walked into the mess of pillars and shelves, Mr. Scamander following closely behind her.

“Tina--about Leta.--”

“Yes, I’ve just said, I am happy for you” Tina lied. She mentally begged the man to stop talking. It was just insensitive at this point. More than was normal for him.

“Yeah, well don’t.”

Tina stopped in her tracks.

“Please don’t be happy.”

Tina looked at the man indignantly, and he grew increasingly more flustered.

“Uh, no, no. I’m sorry. I don’t . . . Uh, obviously, I-- Obviously I want you to be. And I hear that you are now. Uh, which is wonderful. Sorry--” Mr. Scamander gestured helplessly. “What I’m trying to say is, I want you to be happy, but don’t be happy that I’m happy, because I’m not.”

Tina stared at Mr. Scamander, utterly bemused.

“Happy.”

The word only baffled her even more. How could he not be happy if he was eng--

“Or engaged.”

“What?”

“It was a mistake in a stupid magazine,” he explained, and she felt the tension she had been carrying for what felt like lifetimes begin to dissipate. “My brother’s marrying Leta, June the sixth. I’m supposed to be best man. Which is sort of mildly hilarious.”

Tina looked at the man more intently. _Mildly hilarious?_   “Does he think you’re here to win her back?” Then the realization hit her. “ _Are_ you here to win her back?”

“No!” Mr. Scamander frantically exclaimed. “I’m here to--”

He broke off and Tina watched him expectantly. Instead, he hesitantly spoke up, his voice incredibly gentle. “--you know, your eyes really are--”

Newt paused and Tina found herself forgiving him. “Are what?”

He glanced at her bashfully before returning his gaze to the ground: “I’m not supposed to say.”

Feeling as though she should try and help Newt, she blurted out, “Newt, I read your book, and did you--?” at the same time that Newt babbled, “I still have a picture of you--wait, did you read--?”

Tina felt any harsh feelings she still was carrying slip away as Newt pulled a newspaper clipping out of his pocket. It was a picture of her. The small gesture filled her with an indescribable warmth and she could feel tears welling up.

“I got this--I mean, it’s just a picture of you from the paper, but it’s interesting because your eyes in newsprint . . . See, in reality they have this effect in them, Tina . . . It’s like fire in water, in dark water.” Tina suddenly realized what Newt was trying to say, the hours she had spent pouring over his book coming back to her in a flood. Newt continued, but Tina could tell that he was having trouble. “I’ve only ever seen that--”

He paused, as though the words couldn’t escape his mouth. She could see the struggle that was going on inside of him, as though his heart and mind were battling for control over what he would say. “I’ve only ever seen that in--”

Feeling her tears finally spill down her cheek, Tina managed to whisper out, “Salamanders?”

He looked up and she held his gaze for a moment. It would have been strange coming from anyone else, but from Newt, it was the sweetest thing she had ever heard. She had an urge to reach out and kiss him, but he didn’t seem like the sort of man who liked kisses, and hugs were clearly out of the question given his comment about Theseus. She settled for a warm smile, feeling the same giddy joy that she had felt on the harbors of New York all those months ago. There was no denying it anymore; she was in love with Newt Scamander.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!


End file.
